Inbound Marketing and the New Rules

The majority of today’s “traditional” marketers use outbound marketing to reach their audiences. For
message distribution, they use print media, radio and TV. For lead generation, they use direct mail, cold
calls and email blasts. These methods may have worked in the past; however, by using tools like
TIVO/DVR, email spam‐blockers and caller ID, consumers block messages they don’t want. People now
control how they consume media and what messages they care to hear.
But all is not lost! Consumers still want to learn about the best products and services for their needs.
The key is they want to find this information on their own, most often by using the Internet. For
example, someone might peruse the blogosphere to read first‐hand experiences with a particular
product. Maybe that person will also search for reviews online or engage with others in social media to
learn other views and opinions.
Instead of continuing to push marketing messages out, effective marketers adapt to this consumer
behavior by creating marketing campaigns that pull people into their business. This strategy is called
inbound marketing. Inbound marketers offer the public useful information, tools and resources to
attract people to their site, while also interacting and developing relationships with consumers on the
web. Inbound marketing tools include blogging, content publishing, search engine optimization, social
media and social networks.
Twitter is one of the most powerful social networks for your business.